3.8" Rare Amphiplaga From Green River Formation

Rare Amphiplaga From Green River Formation #85401

Amphiplaga brachyptera are one of the rarer fish in the Green River Formation, making up much less than 1% of the total fish population. It's a small fish; this individual is fairly large for the species at 3.8" and is a member of the "trout-perch" family. Because of its rarity it was almost certainly solitary, not a schooling fish like the more common species found in the lake.

About Fossil Lake

50 million years ago, in the Eocene epoch, these fish thrived in Fossil Lake, which was fed by the Uinta and Rocky Mountain highlands. The anoxic conditions at the bottom of Fossil Lake slowed bacterial decomposition, prevented scavengers from disturbing corpses, and, most interestingly, suffocated creatures that ventured into the oxygen-starved aquatic layer. The result is a miraculous exhibition of Eocene biota: a subtropical aquatic community within sycamore forests, teeming with creatures such as freshwater stingrays, dog-sized horses, menacing alligators, early flying bats, and one of the first primates.

A view of one of the commercial quarries where fossils from the Green River Formation are collected.